5 suspected MNLF members charged with violating gun ban

Five of the 15 suspected Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members arrested on Election Day in Tondo, Manila, were charged in court Thursday with violating the gun ban and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.

Three of those charged—Najib Dulos, 31; Omar Ibrahim, 43; and Waradje Abdullah, 57—yielded .45-cal. pistols while the fourth, Rolando Olamit, 53, surrendered a 9mm firearm.

The fifth accused, Rodelio de Guzman, 36, was caught carrying bullets in his bag.

During their arrest, the MNLF members also yielded cell phones, laptop computers and P293,286 in cash. The items, however, were later returned to them because these were “believed not to be related or relevant to the charges.”

The 15 men who identified themselves as MNLF members are residents of Davao province and Compostela Valley.

They were arrested on Election Day, May 13, after a concerned citizen reported the presence of the four armed men to policemen manning an assistance desk near Rosauro Almario Elementary School, which at that time was serving as a polling center.

The four who were wearing jackets later walked toward a parked van which carried 11 other men.

When accosted by the police, the 15 said they were in Manila on a fundraising campaign for the group.

They failed to produce exemption papers from the Commission on Elections for the firearms they were carrying, prompting the police to place them under arrest.